


the dreams that you dare to dream (really do come true)

by princessrorora



Category: Anastasia - Flaherty/Ahrens/McNally
Genre: Domestic Bliss, F/M, Fluff, IKEA Furniture, Modern AU, Prompt Fill, anya loves lucky charms, roommates au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:42:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24324490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princessrorora/pseuds/princessrorora
Summary: and they were ROOMATES (omg they were roommATESS)
Relationships: Anya | Anastasia Romanov/Gleb Vaganov, gleb - Relationship
Comments: 14
Kudos: 48





	the dreams that you dare to dream (really do come true)

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: things you said when you thought i was asleep & things you said at the kitchen table

“Did you mean it?” 

Anya looked up from her cereal, tired blue eyes narrowing in irritation. Gleb sat across from her, fingers tapping an anxious beat against the surface of the kitchen table that she’d helped him pick out two weeks ago.

They’d spent all day at IKEA, Anya filling Gleb’s indecisive, brooding silence with poor pronunciations of every piece of furniture they passed. Once he’d finally settled on the tiny LERHAMN table and a choice few other things which included one dollar cinnamon rolls and ice cream cones, they’d gone back to his apartment and she helped him set it all up. Because she was _nice_ and a good friend and _so what_ if needed an excuse to ask if she could crash on his couch, the almighty EKTORP?

Inviting herself to enjoy the comforts of Gleb’s safe haven and the EKTORP hadn’t exactly been the plan, perse. It had just been a sleepy suggestion she'd made after they’d wrangled the furniture together. Her only other option was to go back to Dmitry's or her grandmother's, and she'd avoided either option for as long as she could. She just...was tired and hadn't wanted to drag herself away from Gleb's side. It was strangely easy with him, in ways she hadn't ever really let herself notice.

By the time they'd completed setting up his furniture, he’d made them pasta at midnight and they’d laughed over the wobbliness of the LERHAMN in between glasses of wine, and it just felt _so_ safe and warm. The question had slipped out of her in between yawns and he’d looked at her so sweetly she’d almost melted into a puddle on the LERHAMN. He’d tucked her in on the EKTORP and she’d held his hand for a moment and it almost felt…right. 

One night turned into two, and then suddenly two weeks had passed and they had a shared routine before they even knew it. She hadn’t planned on it, but it happened nonetheless, and Anya…wasn’t mad about it one bit.

He’d wake up early for his morning run and when he came back he’d turn the coffee on and jump in the shower. Gleb was _such_ a chipper morning person it was downright irritating. He’d sing at the top of his lungs while he made breakfast and tease her relentlessly while she dragged herself about the apartment like a zombie. She only forgave him because his coffee was legendary and he…was just so darn cute she couldn’t help but smile, even on her most exhausted mornings.

They’d always have breakfast together before separating for the day. It was usually during the day when they were both at work that Anya would begin to wonder if she was overstaying her welcome. Gleb’s apartment was tiny and meticulously set up and spotless, and she was a royal mess. And he was far too nice to tell her that she had some slobby habits, even when she caught him grumbling about her shoes in the walkway or her hair ties and bobby pins scattered all over the bathroom counter. Anya knew she had to think about leaving _sometime,_ but he was in no rush to kick her out and so…she was in no rush either?

It was always moments where she questioned herself that he’d pop up with a text or a phone call asking what they should have for dinner, or if he would be working late and if she could please feed Mallie, the stray cat who inhabited the space under his staircase. Then when they’d get home, sometimes they’d eat dinner out on the stoop or take a walk around the block. They’d talk about their day and it had been so long since Anya had someone who _actually_ listened to her and it was just… _nice._

For the first time it made her feel like she finally had a home. 

Her Nana told her she was always welcome to stay with her and Lily, but in the guest house. And while the suggestion was kind, it felt as though she was being held at arms length. Anya knew her Nana loved her and was glad she was finally home, but she never got the feeling that it was meant to last forever. 

Her Nana had all but pushed her into Dmitry’s arms, confusing their comfort with each other for something much deeper. But Dmitry was a worse slob than she ever could be, and his odd hours and the bickering matches they got in over the little things ensured they would never be… _that._

Anya reasonably could get her own place. Somewhere she could make her own. 

But she would be alone, and no matter how used to it she was, Anya didn’t want to spend the rest of her life alone. 

Still, she knew she had to figure something out. Clearly. She was burning all her bridges and even if Gleb was too nice to tell her she had overstayed her welcome, she still knew it.

All good things had to come to an end, especially for her. 

“Did I mean what?” She asked casually, refusing to let him in on the anxious whirlwind in her head.

His tapping ceased, his hands curling around his coffee cup, jaw twitching as he scowled at his coffee. He sighed, though it sounded more like a low growl than anything else. 

All morning, Gleb had been…weird. He’d woken up earlier than he usually did, which, okay, was already early enough. But then he’d gone clambering about the apartment, toiletries knocking together in the bathroom and his sneakers squeaking on the tile as he paced back and forth before going out for his morning run. Then he’d come back all too soon and the dishes were suddenly at war and yes, beggars couldn’t be choosers when you’re technically couch surfing but, _geeze_ , he was kidding right?

She’d dragged herself out of her blanket cocoon on the EKTORP after he got out of the shower. It was a Saturday, so neither of them had to be anywhere anytime soon. Any other weekend morning, (and they’d clearly shared a lot, much to her surprise), he’d playfully lecture her about sleeping so late or make some comment on her sugary food choices, but today he said nothing, not even a grumble in her direction at her teasing comment about the early morning wake up call. He just poured them each a mug of coffee and silently collapsed into his INGOLF chair across from her.

“Someone’s grumpy today.” She mumbled. “Mallie not like her tuna this morning or something?”

Gleb’s lips pursed. He still refused to look at her, instead choosing to focus his scowl on the box of Lucky Charms she had stolen from Dmitry’s, glaring at the sugar content and perky leprechaun.

Anya swirled her spoon around the blueish grey milk. The marshmallows were gone. She sent him a haughty smile as she grabbed the box and dumped another serving into her bowl. “Did I mean what?” She asked again, raking her fingers through her hair as she absently swirled the cereal around. “That I was going to kick your ass for waking me up so early? Because, yes, I meant that. With my whole entire hea-”

“No.” He cut her off sharply, dark eyes avoiding looking directly at her. He stared at her hand on the table, focusing on the loose sleeve of the nightshirt she had stolen from him. “What you said last night.” 

Her spoonful of marshmallows hovered in midair. _No. Way._

She glanced out the window behind him, schooling her expression into nothing but tired irritation. No way, no way, no way, no way. No way he had heard her. He had been asleep and she had been rambling. The Wizard of Oz always made her get sappy and emotional. He’d been tucked in her quilt, exhausted from work and halfheartedly singing along to the Lollipop Guild when he’d started nodding off against her shoulder. No way had he heard what she’d said at the end of the movie, when Dorothy woke up safe in her bed back home. 

But he was pensive and grumpy and not really talking to her or even looking at her now. Maybe he really had heard her and she was overstaying her welcome and he was reading into it and oh, Anya really screwed up this time, hadn’t she?

Anya scrunched up her nose, swirling her spoon in her bowl. “Not sure what you mean.” 

“Anya.” Gleb moved his hand to her wrist, the heat of him warm and familiar. Her heart skipped a beat as his thumb brushed against her skin. “I was...tired. But I wasn’t asleep.” 

_Busted,_ she thought with a wince, _it was fun while it lasted._

She laughed awkwardly, the sound high and tinny and bouncing off the undecorated walls of his kitchen. Her eyes dropped to his hand on her wrist, and she couldn’t help the fluttering in her stomach from the gentle squeeze of his fingers. She could still try to deny it, but there was no point.

“You…weren’t?” 

Gleb moved his hand further up, lacing his fingers through hers and holding tight. “No, I definitely wasn’t.” His other hand brushed under her chin, lifting her face so those dark eyes of his could finally lock onto hers. “Did you mean it?” 

_“I wish I could stay here with you, Gleb. I wish we could just… **be** , y’know? Like **this** all the time. Coffee and movies and Mallie and pasta at midnight and long walks and just…I don’t know, all of it. I like you so much it hurts sometimes. When I’m with you, it feels more like home than anywhere else has in a long time and I…I wish this could be forever.”_

Anya was not a crier, but her eyes suddenly burned and blurred as though she was going to cry, a lump forming in her throat and she couldn’t help but laugh, shaking her head free from his touch. “You know what The Wizard of Oz does to me.” She chewed on her lower lip. “Gleb I…I-I know I’ve overstayed my welcome, I was just…being…sappy or I don’t know what, but…” 

“Anya.” He said her name slowly, his voice much softer as his lips quirked into a bemused smile. “Did you mean it?” 

Anya swallowed, her lips parting as she scrambled for what to say. Her brain felt like an empty, snowy TV channel, her heart pounding like the loudest drum solo she’d ever heard, but his hand was in hers and he was staring at her like he _hoped_ she meant what he said and…

She nodded once. “I did. I do.” 

Gleb’s smile was brighter than the sun, and then suddenly he was leaning over the LERHAMN and the Lucky Charms and his lips were caressing hers. She reflexively grasped his t-shirt, pulling him closer as her lips pressed firmly against his. His body wash smelled like a forest and his lips were warm and tasted like the caramel cream he mixed with his coffee and her heart felt like it would burst out of her chest from how _perfect_ this moment felt. The domesticity they had built over the past two weeks had only been a precursor to a moment like this, a moment she had dreamt of but never thought could actually be. 

He pulled away, his hand still in hers, and she flashed him a toothy grin. His eyes crinkled as his own smile grew, and she couldn’t help but lean up to press her lips to his one more time before he sank back into his chair. At the slight tug of his hand, Anya abandoned her bowl of Lucky Charms and settled into his lap, the warmth of the early morning sunshine brushing over them. 

“So,” she started shakily, her voice sounding silly and excited as she wrapped her arms around him, “Looks like I’m staying?” 

Gleb laughed. “Guess so.” His hands laced together at her waist, the touch protective and warm and _home_. “I…I hoped you meant it. I wasn’t sure how to ask you, y’know? These past two weeks…I wanted it to just... keep going. But I…didn’t want to ask and mess anything up.” 

“Same here.” She giggled, her fingertips tapping against the red that blossomed against his cheeks. 

Gleb pressed his lips to hers again, before pulling away and looking at her seriously. “I have to tell you now, I do tend to snore.” 

Anya playfully gasped. “Gleb, you’re so presumptuous. I could never abandon the EKTORP.”

**Author's Note:**

> just some mindless glenya fluff from an old prompt on Tumblr. :) hope ya'll enjoyed!


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